


Thomas at Kmart 3: The Beepening

by angryessays



Series: Thomas at Kmart [3]
Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Kmart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-12 16:46:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4487130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angryessays/pseuds/angryessays
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The third installment in the Thomas at Kmart ficlet series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thomas at Kmart 3: The Beepening

**Author's Note:**

> Names have been changed to begrudgingly protect the identities of real (awful) people.

 

When Thomas walked into work, he could tell something had happened. The store manager, Mrs. Cooper, was holding the automatic door open when he approached and told him to hurry and get inside.  Upon entry ,  he was struck by the horrible, relentless beeping of the store's security system. It didn't appear as if they'd been robbed, s o he clocked in and went about his business, trying to block out the alarm. The task proved difficult, as the beeping was coming from the speakers rather than the door alarms, and one such speaker was directly above the shoe department. 

He finally asked what had happened: the power had gone out briefly and reset the security system, causing it to go off throughout the store. Despite the complaints and lack of customers in the store--it being a weekday and all--Mrs. Cooper refused to close. There seemed to be no end in sight. Thomas could feel a migraine coming on, but he attempted to work through it.  The first thirty minutes felt endless . 

He made it two hours before he could no longer ignore the problem; his eyes were  tired and watery , his head and ears hurt, and he was beginning to feel naus eous . He resolved to leave if they weren't going to do anything about the God-awful beeping.

"Is there a plan to fix this?" he asked the service desk associate.

"Oh, Mrs. Cooper's been running around trying everything she can! She called the alarm company and they said they'd send somebody out in about four hours, but it's been about three since then."

Thomas  sighed. The fan on the desk was drowning out the beeps, so he could at least stay here until the repair man came. He refused to go back and work in these conditions, not for bare minimum wage and certainly not for Kmart. He was surprised his work ethic could slip so much in such a short time.

 ~

As the fourth hour came and went, Thomas gossiped at the service desk with a few coworkers that he might consider friends. At least, they were friendly and weren't just being polite or sneaky about it.

By the time the man came to fix the security system, it had been going off for nearly six hours. It took him all of two  minutes to turn off the beeping.

Thomas could hardly believe it was finally gone. He hesitantly went back to footwear, half-expecting it to start up again. Thankfully it never did and he was able to at least clean up his area. He dreaded the day the beeping would inevitably come back with a vengeance.


End file.
